Taj, Apollo to tie up for medical tourism

The Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces (the Taj Hotels) is planning to ally with Apollo Hospitals for the promotion of medical tourism. The two companies are likely to sign an agreement next week.

Taj Hotels is expected to promote Apollo Hospitals among the tourists staying at its hotels in the country and abroad.

The cost benefits of conducting operations in an Apollo hospital in India will be conveyed to the tourists. In exchange, Apollo Hospitals would recommend Taj Hotels to its patients for lodging.

"It is for the first time in the country that a major hotels chain is tying up with a big hospitals group. The tie-up will be announced in about a week," said a senior official at the Taj.

The alliance will also involve participation of tour operators in recommending Apollo Hospitals for medical tourism.

According to a Confederation of Indian Industry and McKinsey study, the medical tourism market in the country is estimated to grow to $1 billion by 2012 from the present $300 million. About 3 per cent of all foreign tourists visit the country for treatment.

India is fast emerging as an ideal destination for the western tourists who look at low-cost, minor operations such as knee replacement surgery and angioplasty.

Tourists from the Middle-East, Europe and south-east Asia come over to India for treatment in allopathic systems as well as ayurveda.